Westborough Library Trustees Vote to Remove Three Front Norway Maples Before Renovation Ends

WESTBOROUGH — May 27, 2026 — Westborough Library trustees voted to remove three deteriorating Norway maple trees from the library's front yard at their May 27 meeting, as the building renovation remains on track for a September 2026 occupancy milestone. The board unanimously approved the removal of the trees — rated poor to fair by a town arborist before construction, and since subjected to heavy equipment traffic over their root zones — deferring replanting decisions until after the project closes out; cost is expected to be drawn from the project's contingency fund, which the director said stands at roughly 45 percent spent. Trustees also unanimously approved converting a vacant 13-hour library assistant position into an administrative assistant role to handle payroll, billing, and scheduling tasks currently absorbing director and assistant director time; the position must next be approved by the Select Board. The board accepted a revised meeting room policy for the new 55 West Main Street building that sets an 18-and-older minimum age for reserving two new study rooms, over some trustee concern about excluding teenagers, with the director noting the restriction is intended as a starting point to be loosened based on usage data. The meeting also included a public forum appearance by Brett Borglund, a Congregational Church trustee, who proposed realigning the church-library property boundary and paving a strip of church land into handicapped parking spaces — a concept the board received with interest but referred to the town for further review.